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African Games: Okong'o bullies way to final as Martha seeks to write new history
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 21.03.24. | 11:54
Amina Martha is seeking to become the first Kenyan female boxer to win a medal at the African Games
Kenya’s boxing journey towards rewriting pieces of history and marking new territories in the African Games continued Wednesday night when boxer Edwin Okong’o bulldozed his way into the men’s middleweight finals, securing a 5-0 points victory over Algeria’s Ahmed Ghazli at BBA Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, Ghana.
The win for Okong’o, who is making his second appearance in the championships, puts him in contention for Kenya’s first gold medal in the African Games since 2007, when he meets Morocco’s Yassine Elouarz on Friday night.
Okong’o exploits on Wednesday - that saw him displace his opponent to the canvas multiple times in the second round - came after his win over Tunisia’s Mohamed Elal in the quarter finals, and now places him in a position to break the aforementioned 17-year spell without a gold medal; Suleiman Bilali was the last man to do so.
On writing new history, Kenya’s Amina Martha will seek to join Okong’o into the finals when she faces Nigerian prodigy Shukura Kareem in the women’s bantamweight semifinals on Thursday night at BBA Bukom Boxing Arena.

Martha, who has so far breezed past two of her opponents - Bele Phekie of Botswana in the quarterfinals and Sarah Apew of Ghana in the preliminary rounds - is aiming to become the first Kenyan female boxer to win a medal in the African games.
That could come as a certainty for her with a win on Thursday, and against a southpaw opponent who was among the participants in the recently concluded 2024 Olympics First World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio.
Kenya’s other boxers in the traveling team - Aloice Vincent (light welter) and Peter Abuti (heavyweight) - all suffered first round defeats to DR Congo’s Fiston Mbaya Mulumba (KO) and Nigeria’s Olaitan Olaore (points) respectively.









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